Re: How do I write directly to a memory address?

[Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>]

On 2011-02-08, Hyman Rosen <hyrosen@mail.com> wrote:
>
> Except for DK, who granted was actually interviewing people to work
> with such hardware devices, programming doesn't really involve such
> bit twiddling any more. It doesn't even involve being able to design
> data structures much any more either. These days, someone working in
> Java or C++ will just pick an appropriate container class from the
> library and use it, and it will be good enough.

In this world view, what happens when the programmer _does_ need to move
up from assembling prefabricated Lego bricks into a standard pattern (which
is what this position above amounts to) to actually having to design
a new structure because they have been given something unique to do ?

How do they acquire the experience necessary to understand the tradeoffs
involved with efficiently accessing the structure and updating it ?

How do they understand the issues with multiple threads/programs updating
and accessing the same data structures at the same time ?

Although you can use the prefabricated bricks approach for many standard
designs, you cannot use them for all designs. How do the people who work
on the latter type of project get the experience necessary ?

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world